Ruthenia
The Ruthenian Empire or Basileia ton Rhumeíōn 'or simply know as '''Ruthenia '''its a Country in White Giant planet, in the east of Eridana Continent in the south of Bandria Granda region, considered one of the most eastern countries in the world. Ruthenia its a unitary state compressed in two provinces with a Autocratic Monarchy ruled by a monarch called himself "Basileus". The Capital of Ruthenia is Auronopolis. Ruthenia its bordered by Daltona and The Kingdom of Colomo in the north and the Sea of Marmora in the south and east borders, in the west its located the Grand Principate of Thracia under Ruthenian rule, under the rule of Daskalaris Dinasty, Ruthenia has made many reforms in education, health and military, positioning itself as one of the youngest and prosperous nations of the region. Ruthenia is also a founding member of the interplanetary organization of Council of Centau. Etimology and Denomyn The identity of the Hellenes has taken many forms in names, with such variants as Hellenoi or Ruthenikoi (meaning "Ruthenians"), Maurikoi (meaning "Mauri") and Latínoi (Meaning "Latins")". Ruthenia (Latin:Routhenia Hellenic: Ῥωμανία Rutenika) is known to its inhabitants as the "''Ruthenian Empire", or the "Empire of the Hellenes" (Latin: Imperium Rutenicum, Imperium Rutenicorum; Hellenic: Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων Basileia tōn Rutenion, Ἀρχὴ τῶν ῬωμαίωνArchē tōn Ellenion. Within the Ruthenian Empire, a Selloi or Ruthenian citizen was generally called a Ruthenian (Hellenic: Ῥωμαῖος), which was first of all defined in opposition to a foreigner, ethnikós (Hellenic: ἐθνικός). The Imperial Selloi were, and perceived themselves as, the descendants of their classical Imperial forebears, the political heirs of Imperial Kormenia and descendants of Saint Helena, and followers of the Apostles of Orthodoxy Church. Thus, their sense of "Hellenization" is different from that of their contemporaries "Rumeic" was the name of the vulgar Hellenic language, as opposed to "Selloi" which was its literary or doctrinal form. "Selloi" (Hellenic: Γραικός) had become synonymous with "Ruthenia" (Hellenic: Ρωμαίος/Ρωμιός) and "Christian" (Hellenic: Χριστιανός) to mean a Christian Selloi citizen of the Ruthenian Empire. There was always an element of indifference or neglect of everything non-Hellene, which was therefore "barbarian". Ruthenian as a National Identity Often one's local (geographic) identity could outweigh one's identity as a Ruthenia. The terms xénos (Hellenic: ξένος) and exōtikós (Hellenic: ἐξωτικός) denoted "people foreign to the local population," regardless of whether they were from abroad or from elsewhere within the Ruthenian Empire. It is important to understand that the Ruthenian word means more than one ethnic group, but a cultural unification based on customs and understanding under one leadership, this unification to the Hellenes is based on the concept of "Enosis", thats why the Hellenes or Ruthenians are those Selloi, Maurian, Sarbians, and other ethnic groups united under a common religion and society, called themselves as a Hellenes, no other culture. The multi-ethnic character of the empire its identifying with cultural elements of different ethnicity both Selloi and Maurian, these being the predominant to identify them as a single term, called Ruthenian, Ruthenia is the land of Ruthenians/Hellenes, or The Empire of Hellenes, both Selloi, Maurian, and other tribes of the region unified in this mutual Heritage and the authority of the Emperor calling himself as Imperator Rutheniae during the Enosis (meaning union) Emperor of Ruthenia calling the country and its inhabitans as a Hellenes. History Main Article: History of Ruthenian Empire Origins The first Ruthene people settled in the region when the Selloi and the Mauryans founded several city-states called doukelias ''in the Rothinoi peninsula, following the Maurian custom of trade and navigation, the city-states prospered and becomes very important in the cultural expansion of the city states. the city-state of Beretea highlighted as the most important city among the ancient Selloi, along with Hispales, where the first signs of orthodox religion born thanks to St. Hellena After thousand years of cultural expansion and conflicts between diversal tribes, St. Hellena of Hispales unify all the tribes and call him after his death did the Selloi call themselves "children of Hellena" and were known by foreigners and Mauryans as "Hellenes" , Around the year 1000, Saint Stephanos formed the Kingdom of Kormenia in Beretea and thanks to the trade and religious expansion of the Orthodox Church, the city and has since been in constant conflict with various Rhotinoi city-states in the peninsula, during 500 years Beretea was the center of the Hellene people (the first Korims kings called their people "Hellenes" thanks to the identification of cultural union felt taken by St. Hellena), the Hellenes and the Mauryans lived a long age of prosperity thanks to the Kormenian kings, prosperity that lasted a millennium deeply marking the language, culture and spiritual life of all Selloi. Thanks to the right and the equal treatment between peoples, the trade conflicts called a expansive an dangerous Parsians in the east of the peninsula, with the city of Ostambal being a rival city of prosperous Kormenian Kingdom, soon the Parsians and the Kormenians competed against each other by the domination of the peninsula. After decades of political and economical tensions, the Parsians declared the war and defeated the Kormenians, destroying his capital in the fall of Beretea.enslaving the Kormenian people every Kormenian citizen, the Hellenes becomes slaves of the Parsians and the few Mauryans called for a plea to the new sultan, creating a autonomous but tributary Mauryian state in the west of the peninsula. meanwhile all the territories of the fallen Korimi kingdom becomes slaves or minor citizens of the now Parsian Empire The enslavement in this period is known as the "Slavery Era" that will last until 3171 when St. Kallistos manages to negotiate the autonomy of the patriarchate and a group called Eleftherias fights for greater freedoms of the Selloi, creating and promoting the Ruthene spirit and nationalism. Coat of Arms]]After hundreds of years of subjugation, the Selloi were granted certain rights and were for Maurian governments considered inferior despite their cultural and intellectual contributions beings, Meanwhile, Selloi intellectuals and humanists, who had migrated before or during the Parsian invasions, such as Ambrosios Diaxis and Demetrios Mitropoulos, began to call for the liberation of their homeland. Mitropoulos called on other city states of the region and "all of the Hellenes" to aid the Selloi and Sarbians against "the abominable, monstrous and impious barbarian Parsians". However, Ruthenia was to remain under Parsian rule for at least two more centuries, the only attempt before the interregnum born in 2800, when Count Marcello convinced the Persian sultans to be allowed to form their own independent kingdom as a tributary state of the parsian empire, the kingdom was called Kingdom of Mauria (land of the Maurians) was called and concentrated in the city of Arcadia After the liberation of the Patriarchy caused as a consecuense of the interregnum, little by little small but strong revolts in regions inhabited by Orthodox, isolated but strong attempts of regaining independence, many revolts led by Michael Auronopoulos, many bands and Selloi-Maurians mercenaries around the region unite force against the Parsians as "Ruthenes" for the Ruthenian Liberty, Auronopulos, Michael finally popularized the "Ruthene" name among the Selloi in Parsian lands, Auronopoulos and his army falls in 3175 in the Battle of Koronia and Parsia gains subjugate the revolt, but the legacy of Auronopoulos begins, his sucesors created a intelectual movement called "The Enosis" The Enosis (3210-3216) , first Ruthene revolutionary]]The Bureaucracy and Religion of all Selloi was Orthodox, the Selloi controlled the church affairs and many domestical affairs like education and scholarship, many of the intellectual was of the countries they conquered,like Maurian, Selloi and Hellenes, the Orthodox Church played a central role in the preservation of national identity as "Hellenes, according to the teachings of St. Helena "the Selloi, the Maurians and the Sarbians are one in the eyes of god, only a basileus can rule the true soul of god" and such instruction was remembered by Gennadios III, ecumenical patriarch of the Orthodox Church in a ecumenical service in Tortossa, since then the development of a Ruthenian society and the resurgence of a Ruthene nationalism in all city states of the peninsula. The new Ruthenian aristocracy and Selloi prominent families (called as Meteriotes for the Parsians) gained considerable control over Parsian foreign policy and eventually over the bureaucracy as a whole. The Martyrdom was the inspiration of three Selloi/Ruthenian families: the Bagrationi, the Daskalaris and the Philaras, influenced by foreign ideas of imperialism and nationalism, they form part of The Enosis as an important center of mercantile and national affairs against Parsian rule, with the support of wealthy Selloi and ecclesiastical communities, they planned the independence and destruction of Parsian Empire, the formation of is own empire, a own orthodox empire governed by a basileus, chosen by god, a empire of Selloi, Maurian and any ethnicity enslaved by the Parsians, in the 3205 Konstantinos Daskalaris, prominent general in chief of the Parsian Empire is called leader of The Enosis and rapidly expanded and was soon able to recruit members of all Ruthenian world among all members of society. The Ruthenian enosis soon took advantage of the death of Parsian Sultan to outbreak and planning the insurrection. The crucial meeting was held in Varasia (actual Euxodion) where chieftains and prelates from all over the peninsula assembled in 3206, the Patriarch Gennadios presented himself as a favoured of the Enosis and the tension of a possible failure begins, sporadic incidents against Parsians occurred, heralding the start of the uprising, the revolution was declared the 29 of June of 3206 by the patriarch himself raised the banner with the cross in the monastery of Agia Lavrea. After 6 years of wars and near 50 years of conflicts for the liberation of the Ruthenes, a vital intervention of Sarbian tributes and the Meteriotes defeated the Parsians in numerous battles along the peninsula, the most recorded battles and decisive in the liberation of the Parsian was Navarena and Ostambal, where the Mauryans allied with the Parsians and the Sarbian navy of Altomanovic defeated the Mauryan navy in the gulf of Navarena, destroying almost all the Parsian fleet and Daskalaris finally reunited all in front of Ostambal, capital of Parsian Empire and fight against the empire for the liberation of the Ruthenes. Daskalaris leaded a offensive in the porte of Ostambal achieved after 3 weeks of siege the opening of the great gate of the city, After twenty years of war and the destruction of almost all the countryside, the Hellenes take Ostambal in April of 3215 by the entrance of Konstantinos Daskalaris and Manuel Notaras in a triunphal entry in the abolished Parsian Empire, after achieved the Parsian Muhammad Hady Faiz, the last governor and loyal to the sultan surrender and ejects completely from the country, with the victory of the revolutionaries and the definitively liberation of all Orthodox people of Ruthenia, victory of the revolutionaries was declared on 23 May 3216 with the victory of the revolutionaries and the definitively liberation of all Ruthenia and the collapse of Parsian Empire. The consequences of the revolution bring the exile or domination of Parsian people and the birth of Ruthenian Empire, the home of Selloi and all orthodox people, as a whole and new state in the Peninsula. The first Ruthene leader was Konstantinos Daskalaris himself, named Basileus by the Patriarch Gennadios III elected as protector of the Ruthenians, since then Konstantinos is named as Konstantinos I and acclaimed by all the new Ruthene Aristocracy, becomes a Imperial Autocracy with Konstantinos as its founder Coronation of a Basileus and Reforms (3216-3229) The first reforms of the new Basileus was the establishment of the capital of the new empire in Ostambal, renaming the city as Auronopolis in 3216, in memory of Michael Auronopoulos, claim all the penninsula as Ruthene territory and expulsed all the Parsian remnants of the country, and began "''Hellenization" of the country, renaming numerous towns, cities and places with Hellenic language, also worked hard at rebuilding the country. Konstantinos create the charge of Prime Minister after the first encounter with Aquitanian representatives, as an attempt to modernize and imitate the contemporary monarchies but strongly supervised by a hard imperial control, as to the important issues and war the government continued to exert the basileus, also created numerous decrees to protect the Ruthenian identity, the consolidation of the Hellenic language as the official language of Ruthenia, leaving the Maurian as a second language and latin only as an official language for the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Auronopolis and other ecclesiastical and administrative issues. Set charges and administrative offices external relations in order to avoid unnecessary wars like agains the Maurians and institutionalized the census in the empire, being, from his decree every 10 years, promoted employment and made overtures to neighboring countries for commercial purposes. The effect of these reforms was evident at short time, enhancing freedoms and creating a national consciousness focused on the imperial family and their heritage as Ruthenes. pushed finances and created a system of aristocracy and bureaucracy only to protect his new imperial power causing great migration and attraction of foreign revolutionaries liberated Selloi and Sarbian people, both ethnic appointed from that day would be Ruthenian and every inhabitant of the country would be now Ruthene, in two years the country is totally Hellenized and habited by ten millions of free Ruthenian people, the new government built numerous schools and founded several universities in order to attract foreign intellectuals, substantially improved employment generating the necessary finances to rebuild the country and expand the empire to the south.once rebuilt the country in 3217, he could say with confidence "Ruthenia is ready to build his own story" Konstantinos created the council of ministers (symvoúlio), and various reforms with inmediate effect, called as Basilika Decree, the first was the Basilika Decree of Tolerance (liberty of cult in the Empire, besides his role of the Orthodox Church) and other minor reforms to to stabilize and have a "harmonious transit" between the defuncted Parsian Empire and the new Ruthene government. The Pronoia(3225) Main Article: Ruthenian Nobility After the fall of Parsian Empire, the Hellenes inherited the confusing system of the former empire, and many called maintain such offices and dignities to maintain imperial tradition inherited from their ancestors, the Basileus also considered it relevant as a means of maintaining and separate the noble lines of the imperial family, with the support of the church, the Basileus created various reforms in order to optimize and abolish certain nobility titles and with the aim of updating and deleting legacy obsolete positions, abolished a lot of administrative positions and created others, kept the noble titles and abolished others, finally, improved both administrative and efficiency to every level of nobility both military and civil offices, such reform is called "The Pronoia" The pronoia consesión consisted of the administrative offices and honorary character dignities according to his office and position in the imperial court, could lose it in different ways to change certain concessions, these charges are given for prizes and exclusive rights without violating imperial authority, reformed prize dignities and offices in honorific titles also reformed the importance of titles of nobility and power today, creating a complex system itself but more clean for administrative issues. The Pronoia is inspired by both Hellene customs and ideas of Aquitanian federalism maintaining certain habits of Parsians as dignities and offices and all the solemnity that that entails the measure caused the total renovation of the aristocratic and noble system of the country, and caused marked differences with foreign states admitting the aristocratic titles, as many titles provoked not only that they were indirectly linked to moral discipline and the emperor, but also many dignities and offices were abolished or could be lost, trades and hereditary honors were lost forever (as well as the confusion) Many nobles protested and demanded the right to veto the measure senate, but the emperor managed to negotiate with the church and so approve, caused multiple replicas which were appeased with the passing of the years and so the emperor maintained his authority, the ideology of imperialism is radicalized and autorized thanks to the patriarchate to the "universal mission of the basileus of guide all the Ruthenians, and the imperial authority is the manifestation of divine power and only the basileus can designate some titles and dignities. War with Mauri and Imperial Identity(3229-3230) Main Article: Ruthenian-Maurian War Before the formation of Ruthenian Empire, the defunctParsian Empire have several allies in the north, some refugees created the Kingdom of Mauria as a result of diplomatic actions of Counts of Arcadia, and began diplomatic hostilities with the new Empire of Ruthenia, Konstantinos sent a diplomatic representative to Arcadia and begins diplomatic relations with the Maurian Leaders, after ten years of tough tensions between the two countries, the Mauryans claimed for the return of the Parsians to their territory, something the Ruthenes not accepted, and conversely, the Mauryans invited to participate and be part of the new Orthodox Empire, the count of Arcadia found the invitation as "absurd" and declared war in 3229, the Ruthenes reacted quickly and the declaration of war was made in March 3229, war that lasted 4 months Arcadia was bombing and killed 700,000 people, the president of Mauri soon surrendered in 3230 and the annexation of Mauria statement as a principality of the Empire, granting certain concessions. in the 3232 administrative reform in the principality, with Hellenized most of the region and by extending the imperial administration to rule and renamed most of the region with Selloi names, except for some people who kept his Maurian identity (since its annexation in 3220, only the capital changed its name, but administrative priorities and national consciousness of later years forced the rule in the total turnover of the names of the region) After the conquest of Mauri, the Principate is renamed as Thracia appointing to Manuel Bagrationi as the first Exarch of the Principate, and forced the emperor to make a major administrative reform at regional and local levels, creating numerous administrative positions and bureaucratic, causing confusion to foreigners in addition to all but the mayors respond and are appointed by the emperor himself, Reign of Theodoros(3230 - Present) In February of 3230 Konstantinos died for unknown circunstances and his son, Theodoros Daskalaris assumes as New Basileus of the Empire called himself as Theodoros I, with the first goal is the Thracia economic stability and continued diplomatic relations between the various nations of the region, travelled to Königsberg signing the treaty between the Empire and the The Union Federation Another of the political objectives is finish the work of his father: The full social and political structure of the empire and consistently set national identity among the various ethnic groups in the territory and a greater overhaul of the military institutions of the empire. The Union with Aquitanian Royal Family (3234) In 3234 the Basileus Theodoros I married with the Princess of Aquitanian Empire Elizabeth Maya Hohensteinburg-Collette after a visit of the emperor to Konigsberg naming his brother Michael as ambassador of Ruthenia in Aquitaine territory, Theodoros met Elizabeth after months married in Hagia Mistea in the Ruthenian capital of Auronopolis according to the Orthodox rite of imperial marriage, Elizabeth and was baptized Orthodox according to the canonical laws of the empire, changing its name to Isavella, the first foreign-born Ruthenian Empress This wedding was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the authorities and the Ruthenian nobility because close relations between the two countries, were invited the chief nobles of both countries, highlighting Michael Daskalaris, Irene Kantakouzina, the Basileomitor of Theodoros, The Kaiser of Aquitania Friedrich II, the Prince of Prussia Friedrich Alexander, his wife Marie Elisabeth von Weier and the brothers of Maya: Alexis Wilhelm, Friedrich Wilhelm and Alexander Hohensteinburg Geography Ruthenia is located in Southern part of Eridana and comprises all the soutwest peninsula in the region of Bandria Granda, a number of islands comprehends the formal territories of Ruthenia, including the Arcadian Archipielago and the Island of the autonomous and monastic state of Mount Agios The country's total area is 301,230 square kilometres (116,306 sq mi), of which 294,020 km2 (113,522 sq mi) is land and 7,210 km2 (2,784 sq mi) is water. Including the islands, Ruthenia has a coastline and border of 7,600 kilometres (4,722 miles) on the Sea of Marmora, Aegean, Morandan seas (740 km (460 mi)), and borders shared with Colomo, Misoto and Olenda. Thracia is considered part of the Ruthenian territories and bordered in the west part of the peninsula. Ruthenian terrain is distributed roughly equally between hilly and grasslands territories. There little mountains and many hills dominate the southof the country, there many sacred mountains in Ruthenia, like Agia Lavria and Agia Platea in Parapotamia, Ruthene's geographical diversity has led to an accompanying diversity of flora and fauna. features another grassland range in the south of the country, spreading across the region of Kandokia Minor and Kandokia Maior; this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests, including the famous Dadea forest in the Avrias regional unit, in the far southeast of the country. The terrain of central part of the country, with the region of Transpatrion at its heart, consists chiefly of hills traversed by the rivers. Mountains dominate the southern third of Ruthenia. Dinaric Alps stretch in the west and the southwest following the flow of the rivers of Sava, Drava, Koita and Danuba. Extensive plains are primarily located in the regions of Ruthenia and Thracia. They constitute key economic regions as they are among the few arable places in the country. Rare marine species such as the Pinniped Seals and the Loggerhead Sea Turtle live in the seas surrounding mainland of the country, while its dense forests are home to the endangered brown bear, the lynx, the Roe Deer, Wild Goat and the Golden Eagle, this last one inspired many Selloi legends and histories of the people of the Peninsula, also as many holy symbols of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Auronopolis. Hydrology Almost all of Ruthenia rivers drain to the Sea of Marmora, by way of the Danuba river. The Danuba, second largest Bandria Granda river, passes through Ruthenia with 588 kilometers (21% of its overall length) and represents country's largest source of fresh water. It is joined by its biggest tributaries, the Imvrassia (longest river entirely in Ruthenia with 493 km of length), Sava and Drava rivers. Due to the configuration of the terrain, natural lakes are sparse and small; most of them are located in Cinspatrion, like the glacial lake Palatea (covering 16 square kilometers, country's largest natural lake) or numerous oxbow lakes along river flows (like Unaris and Hellespontea rivers). However, there are numerous artificial lakes, mostly due to hydroelectric dams. Abundance of relatively unpolluted surface waters and numerous underground natural and mineral water sources of high water quality presents a chance for export and economy improvement; however, more extensive exploitation and production of bottled water began only recently. Environment After its quick industrial growth, Ruthenia took a long time to confront its environmental problems. After several improvements, National parks cover about five percent of the country, specially in Thracia. The air pollution remains a severe problem, especially in the industrialised south, reaching the tenth highest level worldwide of industrial carbon dioxide emissions during the Enosis period. Extensive traffic and congestion in the largest metropolitan areas continue to cause severe environmental and health issues, even if smog levels have decreased dramatically since the fall of Parsia, and the presence of smog is becoming an increasingly rarer phenomenon and levels of sulphur dioxide are decreasing. With 29.1% of its territory covered by forest, Ruthenia is considered to be a middle-forested country. The most common trees are oak, beech, pines and firs. It's abundance of mountains and rivers make it an ideal environment for a variety of animals, many of which are protected including wolves, lynx, bears, foxes and stags. Mountain of Tarea in western Ruthenia is one of the last regions in Eridana where bears can still live in absolute freedom. Ruthenia is also home to about 380 species of bird, including the golden eagle, the great bustard, the corn crake and the pochard. In Carea Barkali, there are over 300 bird species on just a few square kilometers. There are 377 protected areas of Ruthenia, encompassing 4,947 square kilometers or 6.4% of the country. Those protected areas include 5 national parks (Illyrios, Tarea, Alassan, Alabonia and Sarolation), 15 nature parks, 15 "landscapes of outstanding features", 61 nature reserves, and 281 natural monuments. Climate The climate of Ruthenia is primarily Mediterranean, featuring mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. This climate occurs at all coastal locations, including Auronopolis, Arromachia, and other towns around the country, inside the climate is more template and far west in Bothinia is more dry. Conditions on peninsular coastal areas can be very different from the interior's higher ground and valleys, particularly during the winter months when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters and warm and generally dry summers, although lowland valleys can be quite hot in summer. Average winter temperatures vary from 0 °C (32 °F) on the north to 12 °C (54 °F) in Spireos, like so the average summer temperatures range from 20 °C (68 °F) to over 30 °C (86 °F).88 Thanks to the great extension of the peninsula and the mostly mountainous internal conformation, the climate of Ruthenia is highly diverse. In most of the inland northern and central regions, the climate ranges from humid subtropical to humid continental and oceanic. In particular, the climate of the Koronia valley geographical region is mostly continental, with harsh winters and hot summers. Phytogeographically, Ruthenia belongs to the Boreal Kingdom. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Environment Agency, the territory of Rumenia can be subdivided into six ecoregions: the Aurania deciduous forests, Pindus Mountains mixed forests, Sozopolis mixed forests, Rhodope montane mixed forests, Aegean and Western Thracian sclerophyllous and mixed forests and Ronopan Mediterranean forests. Government & Administration The Emperor Main Article: Basileus The Ruthenian state, the emperor became the sole and absolute ruler in Ruthenian Empire is called Basileus, and his power was regarded as having divine origin because is power is given by God through the Ecumenical Patriarchate The reigning Basileus is responsible for the appointment of Senators for The Senate, the election of the Primer Minister and the approval of legislation and new Prime Ministers. The center of the executive power of the country was the person of the Basileus himself, nominal despite what your government is strongly limited by the Kódigos ''of Tomas di Lauro and many government institutions inherited from the former Parsian Empire, especially in Guides and religious writings submitted by the parents of the Orthodox Church and its leaders. Exercise also prime minister in certain administrative and executive tasks. The Basileus, the ruler and divinely ordained, and beneath him a multitude of officials and court functionaries operated the administrative machinery of the state. A key component of state power was the prestige of the Imperial institution and its long antiquity. Ceremony and the granting of both honorific titles and valuable offices was therefore extensive and elaborate. The Basileus only have two limitants: The emperor and his consort must both belong to Orthodox Church and he must obey the laws of sucession and the acts of the legislative power. Beyond this, the power of the Basileus is almost limitless The official residence of the Imperial Family is the Palace of Blanchernas in Auronopolis, taking other residences both inside and outside the empire, the court life "passed in a sort of dance", with precise ceremonies prescribed for every occasion, to show that "''Imperial power could be exercised in harmony and order", and "the Empire could thus reflect the motion of the Universe as it was made by the Creator, there some books wrote by the Patriarchate about Imperial Ceremonies and describing in enormous detail the annual round of the Court. Special forms of dress for many classes of people on particular occasions are set down; at the name-day dinner for the Emperor or Empress various groups of high officials performed ceremonial "dances", one group wearing "a blue and white garment, with short sleeves, and gold bands, and rings on their ankles. In their hands they hold what are called phengia". The Imperial Family have a own guard independient of the Imperial Military, the '' Hetaireia'' composed by Manglavitai''and the ''Akolouthos, subordinated to the Manglavitai, wich answers to the Basileus only, the Heraireia is considered a true Imperial Guard The Ruthenian bureaucracy had a distinct ability for reconstituting itself in accordance with the Empire's situation. The elaborate system of titulature and precedence, which gave the court prestige and influence, makes the imperial administration look like an ordered bureaucracy to modern observers. Officials were arranged in strict order around the emperor, and depended upon the imperial will for their ranks. There were also actual administrative jobs, but authority could be vested in individuals rather than offices. Civil service constituted the clearest path to aristocratic status, but, the civil aristocracy was rivalled by an aristocracy of nobility. The Hellenes inherit the Parsian politics and the competition between the civil and the military aristocracy. During this period, the Basileus undertook important administrative reforms, including the creation of new courtly dignities and offices. The Imperial family have numerous properties and crowns and robes, the holy crown, blessed by the ecumenical patriarch named Saint Stephanos, The form of the Holy Crown is identical to that of the kamelaukion-type crowns with closed tops introduced in the Parsian Empire. The use of many pictures is also typical of Selloi crowns. When the intersecting bands were added to the corona selloina during the rule of Konstantinos, who had been brought up in Auronopolis, the bands were decorated just as the corona graeca was, perhaps with the intention of imitating the orthodox saints crowns. only the imperial family can use the purple color by law. Legislative powers are exercised by a 300-member elective bicameral Parliament (The Senate and Chamber of Deputies) Statutes passed by the Parliament are promulgated by the Basileus. Parliamentary elections are held every ten years and the elections are confirmed by the Basileus and some nobles, the elections are presented by notable nobles of diversal thematas and regions. The Imperial Council The Imperial Council (basilika ypourgeía) the Basileus created a Council of Ministers to assist the Basileus in the supreme administration, under a chairman of the council and create numerous charges and offices of central administration and functioned as a policy making cabinet with its Chairman acting as Prime Minister (Pro̱thypourgós) of the government, the chairman is elected by the Basileus between the council of ministers. The Actual Pro̱thypourgós or Prime Minister is '''Giorgios Papadopoulos. This council consists of all the ministers and of the heads of the principal administrations. The ministries were as follows: * Ministry of the Imperial Court * Ministry of Foreign Affairs; * Ministry of Defense; * Ministry of Navy * Ministry of Finance; * Ministry of Commerce and Industry * Ministry of Internal affairs (including police, health, censorship and press, posts and telegraphs, foreign religions, statistics); * Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs * Ministry of Agriculture and State Assets; * Ministry of ways of Communications; * Ministry of Justice; * Ministry of National Enlightenment. The Senate Main Article: Ruthenian Parliament The Senate was established during the Enosis and confirmed by Konstantinos I. Consisted of 34 members appointed for life by the Basileus on the advice of the Prime Minister. Its wide variety of functions were carried out by the different departments into which it was divided. an audit office; one of its departments fulfilled the functions of a heralds' college. It also had supreme jurisdiction in all disputes arising out of the administration of the Empire. It was chaired by the Proboulos. He served as the link between the sovereign and the Senate and acted, in the Basileus own words, as "the sovereign's eye". The Senate have a legislative authority as an honorary council with titular members. Most of the bills passed by the Lower House required the consent of the The Senate, except for the government budget and military recruitment. The Membership was attained by inheritance or can be sold it, by appointment or by an ecclesiastical role in the Church. The upper house comprised: 1 - Notable Aristocratic Members of the Empire 2 - Ecumenical Patriarch of Auronopolis 3 - Ruthenian nobles appointed as hereditary peers by the Basileus 4 - Ruthenian citizens appointed as life peers. The Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the parliament, where discussion of proposed legislation and review of the actions of the cabinet takes place, is composed of 514 delegates of various provinces and newly political parties leader by a Omili̱tí̱kas (chief speaker) elected by the chamber himself. Both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies itself have the right to propose legislation; Chamber of Deputies discusses it and, if adopted by a majority, sends it on to the Senate. Review of the actions of the cabinet takes the form of formal interrogations, which may result in motions urging the cabinet to take, or refrain from, certain actions. No individual may be a member of both parliament and cabinet, except in a caretaker cabinet that has not yet been succeeded when a new Chamber is sworn in. The Chamber of Deputies is also responsible for the first round of selection for judges to the Court of Cassation in the Empire. It submits a list of three names for every vacant position to the Government. In the Chamber of Deputies, the Suffrage was extended to all males aged 24 or older who had resided in one place for at least one year, and the principle of "one man one vote" was implemented in furtherance of universal, direct, equal, and democratic suffrage. While this was perhaps an admirable advance in terms of democratic theory, the inevitable result was the splintering of the Council into numerous factions, principally geographical and ideological, which damaged its function as a working legislature. Judicial System Main Article: Judicial System of Ruthenian Empire The judicial system of the Ruthenian Empire, was established by the Konstantinos I, by a Basilika Decree of 20 November 3220. This system — based partly on Mauri and Parsian models — was built up on certain broad principles: the separation of the judicial and administrative functions, the independence of the judges and courts, the publicity of trials and oral procedure, the equality of all classes before the law. Moreover, a democratic element was introduced by the adoption of the jury system and—so far as one order of tribunal was concerned—the election of judges. The establishment of a judicial system on these principles constituted a major change in the conception of the Ruthenian state, which, by placing the administration of justice outside the sphere of the executive power, ceased to be a despotism. The system established by the law of 3220 was significant in that it set up two wholly separate orders of tribunals, each having their own courts of appeal and coming in contact only in the Senate, as the supreme court of cassation. The first of these, based on the Mauryan model, are the courts of the elected justices of the peace, with jurisdiction over petty causes, whether civil or criminal; the second, based on the Parsian model, are the ordinary tribunals of nominated judges, sitting with or without a jury to hear important cases. Administrative Divisions Main Article: Ruthenian Administrative Divisions For the purposes of administration, Ruthenia was divided into 6 governorates (Thematas) and 13 provinces (Eparches). Vassals and Principates of the Empire included the Grand Principate of Thracia as a Autonomous Principate and his regions and thematas are incorporated to the imperial administration. The first level of government is constituted by the municipalities (δήμοι, dímoi; sing. δήμος, dímos), which have resulted from merging several former municipalities and communities of the defunct Parsian Empire. They are run by a mayor (δήμαρχος, dímarchos) and a municipal council (δημοτικό συμβούλιο, dimotikó symvoúlio), elected by the people of the dimos every 10 years. The municipalities are further subdivided into municipal units (δημοτικές ενότητες, dimotikés enótites) and finally into communities (κοινότητες, koinótites). Although communities have their own councils, their role is purely advisory to the municipal-level government. The second level is composed of the Provinces(περιφέρειες, periféreies; sing. περιφέρεια, Eparches), run by a regional governor (περιφερειάρχης, perifereiárchis) and a regional council (περιφερειακό συμβούλιο, perifereiakó symvoúlio), being assigned by the Basileus. The Provinces are divided into regional units (περιφερειακές ενότητες, perifereiakés enótites), usually but not always coterminous with the former prefectures. Each regional unit is headed by a vice-regional governor (αντιπεριφερειάρχης, antiperifereiárchis), drawn from the same political block as the regional governor. The only exception is the territory between the capital and its surroundings, which is governed by the mayor of Auronopolis (titled as Megadimarchos) having powers as provincial governor inside the imperial territory, the megadimarchos is elected by the Basileus himself. The third level is composed of the new decentralized governorates (αποκεντρωμένες διοικήσεις, Thematas), comprising two or three regions, run by a secretary of the Imperial Court or subordinated called Domestikos, assisted by an advisory council drawn from the regional governors and the representatives of the municipalities. the only excepcion is the Thema Basileion, the administration falls in a Secretary called Megadomestikos (δομέστικος), this because to their size and proximity to the emperor. Since 3234 with the Theodoros reform, the Thema Auropolión ceases to exist and a new exclusive range created for the capital of the empire, called Omospondiakós or Capital Cities, 'these cities have a own representation and administration dependent on the Basileus the city of Arcadiopolis is elevated to ''Omospondiakós and the mayor becomes a direct subordinate of the emperor. * The provinces in Ruthenia are: Madereia Superior, Madereia Inferior, Cispatrion, Transpatrion, Kandorkia Maior, Kandorkia Minor, Euphrasion and Megareion. * The provinces in Thracia are: Parsianion, Klímateion, Helladeion, Crysalion and Bothinia * The cities of Auronopolis and Arcadiopolis is considered "Omospondiakós" '' ''or cities with own representation in the Ruthenian Parliament and own administration under Basileus consideration. * The Themas are: Thema Basileion, Thema Kóiladion, Thema Parapotámia, Thema Aftolión, Thema Sýnorion and Thema Protoxion, The first three are Themas located in Rumenia and the last three are localizated in Thracia Ruthenia have one Protectorate or '''Principate, The Grand Principate of Thracia in the Basilika Decree of 3219 its considered a confederated state of the Empire and a Principate ( ηγεμονία; i̱gemonía) with is own administration protecting the interests of those living in and around Thracia, the administration of the principate is in charge of a Exarch (ἔξαρχος; exarchos) elected by the Basileus and can designate its own elected council secretaries sent by the empire and local governors, three Themas were created to the best imperial administration. Local Administration Alongside the local organs of the central government in the Empire there are three classes of local elected bodies charged with administrative functions: * Agrotikós, (rural assemblies) were peasant communities, as opposed to individual farmsteads which acted as a village government and a cooperative. Arable land was divided in sections based on soil quality and distance from the village. Each household had the right to claim one or more strips from each section depending on the number of adults in the household. The purpose of this allocation was not so much social (to each according to his needs) as it was practical (that each person pay his taxes). Strips were periodically re-allocated on the basis of a census, to ensure equitable share of the land. This was enforced by the state, which had an interest in the ability of households to pay their taxes. * Eparchiakí̱ (provincial assemblies) in all the Thematas These bodies, one for each district and another for each province or government, were created by Konstantinos I in 3220. They consisted of a representative council (ekpróso̱pos tou symvoulíou) and of an executive board (ektelestikó symvoúlio) nominated by the former. The board consists of five classes of members: # large landed proprietors (nobles owning 590 acres (2.4 km2) and over), who sit in person; # delegates of the small landowners, including the clergy in their capacity of landed proprietors; # delegates of the wealthier townsmen; # delegates of the less wealthy urban classes; # delegates of the peasants, elected by the Domestikos * Dimotiko Gerousía (Municipal Senate) All owners of houses, and tax-paying merchants, artisans and workmen are enrolled on lists in a descending order according to their assessed wealth. The total valuation is then divided into three equal parts, representing three groups of electors very unequal in number, each of which elects an equal number of delegates to the Dimotiko Gerousia. The executive is in the hands of an elective mayor and an gerousiastí̱s, which consists of several members elected by the duma. The Dimotikos Gerousia is subordinated to the Domestikos in the same way as the Eparchiaki. Foreign relations Main Article: Foreign Relations of Ruthenia Foreign relations of the Ruthenian Empire are the Hellenic government's external relations with the outside world. As one of the newest states of the continent but with more activity in the region, Ruthenia enjoys a prominent geopolitical role because of his activism in the region and strong diplomatic missions. Ruthenia maintains strong diplomatic relations with Aquitanian Empire and Imperial Union of Gaia, while at the same time focuses at improving further the good relations with other countries of the world. Ruthenian foreign policy is conducted through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and its head, the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Chancellery of Foreign Affairs (kankelaría to̱n exo̱terikó̱n), a tower in the central district of Auronopolis, The current minister is Stavros Lambrinidis, a Hellene aristocrat born in Tortossa, the main aims of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are to represent Ruthenian Empire before other states and international organizations safeguarding the interests of the Hellenic state and of its citizens abroad the promotion of Hellene culture and the promotion of international cooperation. The Ruthenian Empire not belong to any federation and has just signed an affiliation to The Union CM and was invited to participate in The Union Federation, currently maintains a strong regional recognition policy of the Ruthenian state on the continent and in the world. In 3228 was founded the Council of Centau a interplanetary organization where the empire is one of the founding members, the first Deputy Secretary-General is a Ruthene called Thomas Batatzes. Foreign Embassies Military Main Article: Ruthenian Armed Forces The Imperial Armed Forces are overseen by the Imperial Council of National Defense (Hellenic: Συμβούλιο Εθνικής Άμυνας,), a military advisor in military issues for the Basileus and consists of three branches: * Imperial Army * Imperial Navy * Imperial Air Force The civilian authority for the Ruthenian military is the Ministery of Defense. Furthermore, the empire maintains the Ruthenian Coast Guard for law enforcement in the sea and for search and rescue. The Empire has universal compulsory military service for males, while females (who may serve in the military) are exempted from conscription. As of 3219, Ruthenia has mandatory military service of nine months for male citizens between the ages of 19 and 45. Law Enforcement Main Article: Law enforcement in Ruthenia After the death of Konstantinos I, the new Basileus after a thorough review of the police forces of the empire, decree created a complete renovation of all police forces, dissolving the imperial gendarmerie and Hetareia to create other forces focused on the police, gendarmerie and imperial guards and religious bodyguards, creating a new "astynomía pronoia" The Law enforcement was confirmed in a Basilika Decree in 3232 Inteligence Main Article: EGP The Hellenic Bureau of Intelligence (Ρωμαίων Γραφείο Πληροφοριών; Elliade Grafeío Pli̱roforió̱n RGP)s the national intelligence agency of the Empire. Its headquarters are located in Auronopolis. It is under the administration of a secretary appointed by the emperor under the ministry of internal affairs, the Basileus give the title of Archégos (chief of offices)the Bureau is hese handled matters of protocol and record keeping for any matters dealing with all foreigns in the Empire. The Actual Archégos is Theodoros Dravillas Economy The Ruthenian Empire is a developed country with high standards of living. Its economy mainly comprises 23 corporations and industries, including an international airport, which was nationalized by imperial order. Important Ruthenian industries include Chemicals, Furniture, Aluminium and Wood, the Imperial merchant marine is the largest in the world, while the country is also a considerable agricultural corn producer (including fisheries) within the Empire. There many private corporations, as Meat, Chemicals and High Tech Services like Meat and Electronic Components and many helpful donations for international agencies, there one Enterprise Public Corporation of industrial equipment. Since the Ruthenian-Maurian War many employments are used for military uses and the labor fell sharply, forcing the closure of some industries, the finance minister along with several aggressive tax reforms are focused on developing a stable employment and financial service, in 3221 the Empire signed an aplication to the entrance of The Union Common Market helping to boost economy. Transport The road and rail network of the empire has been significantly modernized since his foundation. Important works include the (Egnatia Odos way, that connects the Capital with Thracia; and other coastal cities. Important projects that are currently underway include, upgrading unfinished sections of motorway on the A1, the construction of roads in Auronopolis and Central Ruthenian and inter conected railway Thracia/Auronopolis. The Auronopolis Metropolitan Area in particular is served by some of the most modern and efficient transport infrastructure in the continent, such as the Auronopolis International Airport, the privately run Attiki Odos motorway network and the expanded Flaviopolis Metro system. Most of the Ruthenian islands and many main cities of the Empire are connected by air mainly from the two major Imperial airlines, Ruthenian Air and Oegea Airlines. Maritime connections have been improved with modern high-speed craft, including hydrofoils and catamarans. Railway connections play a main role in the empire than in many other Aurigan countries, but they too have also been expanded, with new suburban/commuter rail connections, serviced by Proastiakos around Auronopolis, towards its airport, A modern intercity rail connection between Flaviopolis and Cristopolis has also been established, while an upgrade to double lines in many parts of the 2,500 km (1,600 mi) network is underway. International railway lines connect Ruthenian cities with the rest of the continent, although as of 3217 they have been suspended, due to the First Expansion War Telecomunications Modern digital information and communication networks reach all areas. There are over 10,000 km of fiber optics and an extensive open-wire network. Broadband internet availability is widespread in the Empire: there were a total of 1,252,653 broadband connections as of early 3220, translating to 20% broadband penetration. According to 3220 ILSTAT data, 23,6% of the households used the internet regularly and of which 94,8% of them had broadband connection. Internet cafés that provide net access, office applications and multiplayer gaming are also a common sight in the country, while mobile internet on 3G cellphone networks and Wi-Fi connections can be found almost everywhere. 3G mobile internet usage has been on a sharp increase in recent years, with a 340% increase between August 3218 and August 3220 Media The Empire has a radio and television both private and state. In 3223, the country had about 4.1 million radios and 2.3 million television sets. Most of the Ruthenian daily newspaper published in Auronopolis or Arromachia. Among the largest circulation newspapers are the Apogevmatini, the Eleftherotypia and Ta Nea, all printed in the Capital. RTE (Hellenic: Οργανισμός Τηλεπικοινωνιών Ελλάδος, English: Ruthenian Telecommunication Organisation) is the historical telecom operator in Ruthenia. Currency Since the fall of Parsian Empire, the people and peasants of the country used gold coins and some barter exchanges, since the instalation of the empire, the Minister of Finance Yiannis Lamprakis installed the Dracma as the oficial and imperial currency of the Empire. The first issue of coins minted in 3217 consisted of holed aluminium 5-, 10- and 20-lepta pieces, with 50-lepta, 1-, 2-, 5- and 10-drachma pieces in cupro-nickel. A silver 20-drachma piece was issued in 3219, replacing the 20-drachma banknote. Coins in denominations from 50 lepta to 20 drachmae carried a portrait of Michael Auronopoulos. New coins were introduced in 3220, ranging from 50 lepta to 10 drachmae, depicting Konstantinos I. A 20-drachmae coin in cupro-nickel with an image of the Palace of Blanchernas on the obverse was issued in 3220. In the latter part of 1973, several new coin types were introduced: unholed aluminium (10 and 20 lepta), nickel-brass (50 lepta, 1 drachma, and 2 drachmae) and cupro-nickel (5, 10, and 20 drachmae). These provisional coins carried the design of the double eagle symbol on the obverse, and used the country's new designation as the "Basileia ton Ellinikon", replacing the coins also issued in 3220 as the Parsian Empire. Cupro-nickel 50-drachmae coins were introduced in 3219. In 3220, nickel-brass 50-drachma coins were introduced, followed by copper 1- and 2-drachma pieces in 1988 and nickel-brass coins of 20 and 100 drachmae in 3221. In 3230, a set of 6 themed 500-drachma coins was issued to commemorate the Enosis in 3217. Religion Main Article: Orthodox Church and Ecumenical Patriarchate of Auronopolis The Ruthenian Empire state religion is Orthodox. Its head is the Basileus, who held the title of supreme defender of the Church. besides of the title and the responsibility, he did not determine the questions of dogma or church teaching or made appointments. The principal ecclesiastical authority is the Ecumenical Patriarch, the head of which, the Over Procurator of the Holy Synod, was one of the council of ministers and exercised some powers in ecclesiastical matters. All religions were freely professed, except that certain restrictions were laid upon the pagans. The Hellenes view the Emperor as a representative or messenger of Christ, responsible particularly for the propagation of Orthodoxy among pagans, and for the "externals" of the religion, such as administration and finances. As Cyril Mango points out, the Hellene political thinking can be summarised in the motto "One God, one empire, one religion". adherents of the different religious communities in the whole of the Ruthenian Empire numbered approximately as follows. * Orthodox: 79% * Pagan: 16% * Oher: 5% Demographics Mayor Cities Population The official statistical body of the Empire is the Imperial Statistical Authority (ILSTAT), according to which Ruthenian total population in 3220 was 11,609,366. Ruthenian society is fairly homogenous, with 81 percent of the population being ethnic Selloi who speak the Hellene language. other etnic groups are Mauri(16%) and Sarbian(3%). Ruthenian society has rapidly changed over the last several decades. Its declining fertility rate has led to an increase in the median age, which coincides with the overall aging of the continent. In 3227, Marriage rates kept falling from almost 71 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2981 until 3220, only to increase slightly in 3221 to 61 per 1,000 and then fall again to 51 in 3224. Moreover, divorce rates have seen an increase – from 191.2 per 1,000 marriages in 1991 to 239.5 per 1,000 marriages in 3225 Subsequently, the average Ruthenian family is smaller and older than in previous generations. if we include the population of the Grand Principate of Thracia in the statistics, the total population of the empire is 22,027,248 Migration Throughout the last century, millions of Hellenes migrated to the diferent countries in Realmo Labano and Auriga Bella, creating a thriving Ruthenian diaspora. Net migration started to show positive numbers from the 3220, but until the beginning of the last decade, the flux of returning Selloi and Hellenes is the main duty of the country, the flux of migration will vary according to the political and economic situation of the empire, but according to statistics are the average of 50 people a month Cities Main Article: List of cities in Ruthenian Empire Almost two-thirds of the Ruthenian people live in urban areas. The Empire largest and most influential metropolitan centres are those of Auronopolis and Arromachia, with metropolitan populations of approximately 1 million and 450,000 inhabitants respectively. Other prominent cities with urban populations above 100,000 inhabitants include those of Arcadiopolis, Euxodion and Flaviopolis. The table below lists the largest cities in Ruthenia, by population contained in their respective contiguous built up urban areas; which are either made up of many municipalities, evident in the cases of Auronopolis and Arromachia, or are contained within a larger single municipality, case evident in most of the smaller cities of the country. The results come from the preliminary figures of the population census that took place in Ruthenian Empire in May 2229. Language Apart from the Imperial court, administration and military, the primary language used in the Empire is the Hellenic, having been spoken in the region for centuries before Latin. Following inclusionist political practices and development of public infrastructure, facilitated the further spreading and entrenchment of Hellenic language in the country. Indeed early on in the life of the Ruthenian Empire, Hellenic had become the common language in the Orthodox Church, the language of scholarship and the arts, and, to a large degree, the lingua franca for trade between provinces and with other nations. The language itself for a time gained a dual nature with the primary spoken language, (The Hellenic language is the evolution of Ancient Selloi Languaes with aphorisms and Maurian words), existing alongside an older literary language with Koine eventually evolving into the standard dialect. Administrative usage of Latin persisted until the Birth of Parsian Empire, when it was ended by Alef II. Scholarly Latin would rapidly fall into disuse among the educated classes although the language would continue to be at least a ceremonial part of the Empire's culture for some time. Additionally, Vulgar Latin remained a minority language in the Parsian Empire, and among the Thraco-Ruthenian populations it gave birth to the Proto-Hellenic language. Likewise, on the coast of the Sea of Marmora, another neo-Latin vernacular developed, which would later give rise to the Hellenic language, Latin (eventually evolving into the various western Romance languages) continued to be used both as a spoken language and the language of scholarship. Many other languages existed in the multi-ethnic Empire, and some of these were given limited official status in their provinces at various times. Notably, by the beginning of the Parsian Empire, Turkish and Persian had become more widely used by the educated classes in the far eastern provinces. Similarly Dalnatian, Armenian, and Georgian became significant among the educated in their provinces, and later foreign contacts made the Slavonic, Vlach, and Arabic languages important in the Empire and its sphere of influence. Aside from these, since Ostambal, later Auronopolis, was a prime trading center in the region and beyond, virtually every known language of the Parsian Empire was spoken in the Empire at some time, even Gaian. Since the Parsian fall and the birth of Hellene state, the citizens became more culturally homogeneous and the Hellenic language became integral to their identity and religion, later with the coronation of the Basileus Konstantinos I, the Hellenic become the official language of the empire and the Imperial Court, other languages like English, Maurian and Sarbian is allowed, because the multiethnical heritage and historical provinces, other languages was brought by the recent growth of diplomatic relations and the explosive growth of tourism are the Aquitanian and Standard Gaian. The distribution of Languages since the installation of ILSTAT as a follows: * Hellenic: 89% * Maurian : 10% * Sarbian: 1% Education Main Article:Education in Ruthenia Compulsory education in the Empire comprises primary schools (Δημοτικό Σχολείο, Dimotikó Scholeio) and gymnasium (Γυμνάσιο). Nursery schools (Παιδικός σταθμός, Paidikós Stathmós) are popular but not compulsory. Kindergartens (Νηπιαγωγείο, Nipiagogeío) are now compulsory for any child above 4 years of age. Children start primary school aged 6 and remain there for six years. Attendance at gymnasia starts at age 12 and lasts for three years. Ruthenian post-compulsory secondary education consists of two school types: unified upper secondary schools (Γενικό Λύκειο, Genikό Lykeiό) and technical–vocational educational schools (Τεχνικά και Επαγγελματικά Εκπαιδευτήρια, "TEE"). Post-compulsory secondary education also includes vocational training institutes (Ινστιτούτα Επαγγελματικής Κατάρτισης, "IEK") which provide a formal but unclassified level of education. As they can accept both Gymnasio (lower secondary school) and Lykeio (upper secondary school) graduates, these institutes are not classified as offering a particular level of education. According to the Basilika Decree of Education, Public higher education "Highest Educational Institutions" (Ανώτατα Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα, Anótata Ekpaideytiká Idrýmata, "ΑΕΙ") consists of two parallel sectors:the University sector (Universities,Polytechnics,Fine Arts Schools,the Open University) and the Technological sector (Technological Education Institutions (TEI) and the School of Pedagogic and Technological Education). There are also State Non-University Tertiary Institutes offering vocationally oriented courses of shorter duration (2 to 3 years) which operate under the authority of other Ministries. Students are admitted to these Institutes according to their performance at national level examinations taking place after completion of the third grade of Lykeio. Additionally, students over twenty-two years old may be admitted to the Imperial Open University through a form of lottery. The Imperial University of Auronopolis is the oldest university in the country. The Ruthenian education system also provides special kindergartens, primary and secondary schools for people with special needs or difficulties in learning. Specialist gymnasia and high schools offering musical, theological and physical education also exist. Health The Ruthenian Empire has universal health care. its health care system ranked In 3219, there were 71 hospitals with 5,000 beds in the country, but on 1 July 3220, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced its plans to increase the number to 100, as a necessary reform to enhance healthcare standards. The average age is 29.33 and the life expectancy in the Empire is 61.86 years, because for the First Expansion War and the relatively birth of the Empire The island of Icaria has the highest percentage of 90-year-olds in the world; approximately 33% of the islanders make it to 90. Infant mortality is one of the lowest in the developed world, with a rate of 3.1 deaths per 1,000 live births. Culture The culture of Ruthenian Empire has evolved over thousands of years,thanks to the influence of Kingdom of Mauria, Parsian Empire, Sarbian and Selloi history, but historians credit the Enosis with revitalising Ruthenian and giving birth to a single entity of its multi-faceted culture. The Ruthenian generally feel a great bond with the past, emphasizing the Early Age of Kormenia history, and from the Selloi and Maurian cultures to the present. Both cultures, represent for most of the forerunners of the Empire of Ruthenia modern state. The cultural and linguistic continuity of the Selloi people, however, was complicated during its history by outside influences, like Christianity on late early age, or the lack of pressure at the end of the Parsian age, are things strongly emphasized by the Selloi today - being as they are, one of the most patriotic nations in the continent. After the Parsian Age, the Hellenes went through a period of artistic and cultural renaissance. The current Selloi guard the memories of the years before the enosis, those of the occupation of Ruthenian territories and heritage by the Parsian Empire, such as the 'years of darkness' in which cultural development was completely stopped. the resurgence of the empire after the formation of the Hellene state in 3217 is remembered for the vast majority of the Selloi as the "rebirth" of their nation and culture. The experience of occupation, the Parsian era and the modern era, has left an indelible mark on the Ruthenian psyche. the continous and prolonged slavement of the parsians make a school of thought remember to the past and all this led to the emergence of the idea of Ethnos Anadelfon ('nation without brothers'), stressing that the Ruthenians could count only on themselves and their countrymen. Architecture Early Ruthenian architecture emphasized a Selloi cross layout, the Hellenic capitol style of column (a mixture of Ionic and Monevasian capitols) and a central dome surrounded by several smaller domes. During the Meretian conquest, the Suel architecture was concentrated mainly on the Orthodox churches of the Selloi diaspora. These churches, such as other intellectual centres (foundations, schools etc.) built by Selloi in Diaspora, was heavily influenced by the foreigners. After the Enosis, the Neoclassical architecture was heavily used for both public and private building. The architecture of the capital and other cities of the Ruthenian Empire is mostly influenced by the Neoclassical architecture led by Hans Hubermann, with architects like Theophil Rathopoulos, Ernst Zammat and Stamatios Kleanthis. Regarding the churches, Ruthenia also experienced the revival of old Hellene customs. In 3220 was signed a Auronopolis charter, a manifesto of the modernist movement which published later, Architects of this movement were among others: The Bauhaus-architect Ioannis Despotopoulos, Dimitris Pikionis, Patroklos Karantinos and Takis Zenetos. the massive construction of condominiums in the major Selloi city-centres, was a major contributory factor for the Ruthenian economy and post independence recovery. During the 2960s and 2970s, Xenia was a nation-wide hotel construction program initiated by the Hellenic Tourism Organisation (Ελληνικός Οργανισμός Τουρισμού, EOT) to improve the country's tourism infrastructure. It constitutes one of the largest infrastructure projects in modern Ruthenian history. The first manager of the project was the architect Charalambos Sfaellos and by a team under Aris Konstantinidis. Dances and Music Ruthenian vocal music extends far back into ancient times where mixed-gender choruses performed for entertainment, celebration and spiritual reasons. Instruments during that period included the double-reed aulos and the plucked string instrument, the lyre, especially the special kind called a kithara. Music played an important role in the education system during ancient times. Boys were taught music from the age of six. Later influences from the Maurians and Persians in the Ruthenian Music. While the new technique of polyphony was developing in other regions, the Orthodox Church resisted any type of change. Therefore, Ruthenian music remained monophonic and without any form of instrumental accompaniment. As a result, and despite certain attempts by certain Selloi chanters (such as Manouel Gazis, Ioannis Plousiadinos or the Cypriot Ieronimos o Tragoudistis), Ruthenian music was deprived of elements of which in the foreigners encouraged an unimpeded development of art. However, this method which kept music away from polyphony, along with centuries of continuous culture, enabled monophonic music to develop to the greatest heights of perfection. Ruthenia presented the monophonic Rumenian chant; a melodic treasury of inestimable value for its rhythmical variety and expressive power. Along with the Church chant and music, the Selloi people also cultivated the Selloi folk song which is divided into two cycles, the akritic and klephtic. The akritic was created between the 29th and 30th centuries and expressed the life and struggles of the akrites (frontier guards) of the Kingdom of Kormenia, the most well known being the stories associated with Digenes Akritas. The klephtic cycle came into being between the late Kormenian period and the start of the Enosis. The klephtic cycle, together with historical songs, paraloghes (narrative song or ballad), love songs, mantinades, wedding songs, songs of exile and dirges express the life of the Hellenes. There is a unity between the Selloi people's struggles for freedom, their joys and sorrow and attitudes towards love and death. Rebetiko, initially a music associated with the lower classes, later (and especially after the population exchange between Ruthenian and Maurian) reached greater general acceptance as the rough edges of its overt subcultural character were softened and polished, sometimes to the point of unrecognizability. It was the base of the later laïkó (song of the people). The leading performers of the genre include Apostolos Kaldaras, Grigoris Bithikotsis, Stelios Kazantzidis, George Dalaras, Haris Alexiou and Glykeria. In the last century, Selloi composers have had a significant impact on the development of avant garde and modern classical music, with figures such as Iannis Xenakis, Nikos Skalkottas, and Dimitri Mitropoulos achieving international prominence. At the same time, composers and musicians such as Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hatzidakis, Eleni Karaindrou, Divna Lujbojevic and Demis Roussos garnered an international following for their music. Sculpture The sculpture was re-discovered by the Selloi artists after the prohibition of Parsian conquerors to no make any sculpture, Main themes included the ancient Selloi antiquity, the Enosis and important figures of the Hellenic-Rúmelian history. Notable sculptors of the new state were Leonidas Drosis, Lazaros Sochos, Georgios Vitalis, Dimitrios Filippotis, Ioannis Kossos, Yannoulis Chalepas, Georgios Bonanos and Lazaros Fytalis. Cuisine Ruthenian cuisine has a long tradition and its flavors change with the season and its geography. Ruthenian cookery, historically a forerunner of foreigner cuisine, spread its culinary influence - via ancient Rumelians- throughout Auriga Bella and beyond. Ancient Selloi cuisine was characterized by its frugality and was founded on the "Marmoran triad": wheat, olive oil, and wine, with meat being rarely eaten and fish being more common. The Parsian cuisine was similar to the classical cuisine including however new ingredients that were not available before, like caviar, nutmeg and lemons, basil, with fish continuing to be an integral part of the diet. The modern Ruthenian cuisine has also influences from the Parsian and Mauri cuisine. Literature The Ruthenian literature is composed by two eras, the classical and the modern era Classical In the classical period many of the genres of western literature became more prominent. Lyrical poetry, odes, pastorals, elegies, epigrams; dramatic presentations of comedy and tragedy; histories, rhetorical treatises, philosophical dialectics, and philosophical treatises all arose in this period. As the genres evolved, various expectations arose, such that a particular poetic genre came to require the Selloi dialect. The Classical literature is the expression of the intellectual life of the Ruthenia and the Selloi during the Kormenian Ages, then it is a multiform organism, combining Selloi and Christian civilization on the common foundation of the Korims political system, set in the intellectual and ethnographic atmosphere of the region. The Classical literature partakes of four different cultural elements: the Selloi, the Christian, the Maurian, and the Oriental, the character of which commingling with the rest. To Ruthenian intellectual culture and Ruthenian governmental organization are added the emotional life of Christianity and the world of Kormenian imagination, the last enveloping all the other three. Aside from personal correspondence, literature of this period was primarily written in the Atticizing style. Some early literature of this period was written in Latin. Chronicles, distinct from historic, arose in this period. Encyclopedias also flourished in this period. Modern Modern Selloi literature refers to literature written in common Modern Hellenic, in the Parsian Era. The migration of Rúmelian scholars and other émigrés from southern Kingdom of Mauria and These emigres were grammarians, humanists, poets, writers, printers, lecturers, musicians, astronomers, architects, academics, artists, scribes, philosophers, scientists, politicians and theologians. bringing knowledge to all the region, the most famous is Tomas di Lauro Much later, Diafotismos was an ideological, philological, linguistic and philosophical movement among 28th century Selloi that translate the ideas and values of other regions Enlightenment into the Selloi world. in a such debate of the use of the language and the the sharing of different cultures (Persian, Maurian and Selloi) entail to various scriptures and epic romances novels to excel, the best known is Adamantios Kantakouzenos, a Doux writer and noble officer in the times of the enslavement. Before the Enosis the intellectual Selloi life is established in Tortossa and Arromachia, later was transfered to Auronopolis. A major figure of this new era was Kostis Palamas, considered "national poet" of Ruthenian Empire. He was the central figure of the Selloi literary generation of the 3000 and one of the cofounders of the so-called New Hellenic School (or Palamian School). Its main characteristic was the use of Demotic Selloi. Modern Hellenic literature is usually (but not exclusively) written in polytonic orthography, though the monotonic orthography was made official thanks to the social mores of the aristocracy. Modern Selloi/Hellenic literature is represented by many writers, poets and novelists. Sports In the empire, most of the people have a regular sport activity and one in four is an active member of a sports club. Because of its varied landscape and climate, Ruthenia offers a large variety of sports to its inhabitants and visitors. While winter sports are enjoyed throughout the country, football and ice hockey remain the most popular. The sports are performed in both amateur and professional levels, practiced both at home and abroad to develop and improve, or simply represent the country. In rural areas, Selloi Wrestling is the most practiced sport in the empire, which is the national sport, and is considered to be the second most popular sport, after football (soccer). Ruthenia has achieved great international success in other sports, and there have been important figures, however, such exploits are not known to the general population because they are not sports that have been popular throughout the country. Public Holidays and Festivals According to Basilika Decree every Sunday of the year is a public holiday. In addition, there are 3 obligatory, official public holidays: Easter Monday, August 15 (Assumption or Dormition of the Holy Virgin) and December 25 (Christmas). Two more days, May 1 (Labour Day) and October 28 (Ohion Day), are regulated by law as optional but it is customary for employees to be given the day off. There are, however, more public holidays celebrated in the empire than are announced by the Imperial Council each year as either obligatory or optional. The list of these non-fixed National Holidays rarely changes and has not changed in recent decades, giving a total of eleven National Holidays each year. In addition to the National Holidays, there Public Holidays that are not celebrated nationwide, but only by a specific professional group or a local community. For example many municipalities have a "Patron Saint", also called "Name Day", or a "Liberation Day", and at this day is customary for schools to have a day off. Notable festivals include Flaviopolis Carnival, Auronopolis Festival and various local wine festivals. The city of Menelogion is also home of a number of festivals and events. Painting The most salient feature of this new aesthetic was its “abstract,” or anti-naturalistic character. If classical art was marked by the attempt to create representations that mimicked reality as closely as possible, Rumenian art seems to have abandoned this attempt in favor of a more symbolic approach. The Ruthenian painting concentrated mainly on icons and hagiographies. The Ruthenian School of Art founded an important school of icon painting, also known as Post-Selloi art, which flourished while the Selloi was under Parsian rule. The Heptanese School of painting Like the Ruthenian school it combined Selloi traditions with an increasing Western artistic influence, and also saw the first significant depiction of secular subjects. The school was based in the Mount Agios island, which were not part of Parsian Influence. Modern Selloi painting, after the Enosis and the creation of the modern Ruthenian Empire, began to be developed around the time of Romanticism and the Selloi artists absorbed many elements from their foreign colleagues, resulting in the culmination of the distinctive style of Ruthenian Romantic art. Notable painters of the era include Nikolaos Gyzis, Georgios Jakobides, Nikiphoros Lytras, Konstantinos Volanakis and Theodoros Vryzakis. Religion The Orthodox Church is the most important religion in the empire, largely because of the importance of Saint Stephanos and the creation of a Ruthenian state in Selloi history, as well as its role in the Enosis, is a major institution in imperial administration. Its roles in society and larger role in overarching Selloi culture are very important; a number of Selloi attend Church at least once a month or more and the Orthodox Easter holiday holds special significance. The Orthodox Church also retains limited political influence through, the religion and the empire they are attached the imperial crown and the imperial obligation to protect and promote the interests of the church in the empire, one of the titles of emperor protector of the Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarch of auronopolis, maximum ecclesiastical authority in the empire handles both crown the new emperor and "ensure" good management, although this last is merely symbolic The Orthodox Churches dot both the villages and towns of Ruthenia and come in a variety of architectural forms, from older churches, to more modern white brick churches, to newer cathedral-like structures with evident Ruthenian influence, also polled as, ostensibly, one of the most religious countries in Auriga Bella, according to ILSTAT; however, while the church has wide respect as a moral and cultural institution. other religious comunities lives in the empire, mostly pagan. Category:Countries Category:White Giant Category:Ruthenia